It was then transferred to several other owners, including Andrew Young in 1884 and Edwin H. Piper in 1902.

The city is named after Douwe Gaastra, a building contractor and real estate speculator who bought the land in October 1908 and platted the town.

A post office was established with the first postmaster being Olaf A. Olson on September 26, 1914.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.64 square miles (4.25 km2), all land.

The racial makeup of the city was 98.3% White, 0.6% Native American, and 1.2% from two or more races.

30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

22.0% were of Italian, 20.1% Polish, 13.9% Finnish, 10.6% French and 8.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.